The Spirit of Prophecy in the Advent Movement

“A View Of The World Work

“Would that every one of you could have a view that was presented to me years ago. In my very girlhood the Lord saw fit to open before me the glories of heaven. I was in vision taken to heaven, and the angel said to me, ‘Look!’ I looked to the world as it was in dense darkness. The agony that came over me was indescribable as I saw this darkness. SPIAM 93.2

“Again the word came, ‘Look ye.’ And again I looked intently over the world, and I began to see jets of light like stars dotted all through this darkness; and then I saw another and another added light, and so all through this moral darkness the starlike lights were increasing. And the angel said, ‘These are they that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and are obeying the words of Christ. These are the light of the world; and if it were not for these lights, the judgments of God would immediately fall upon the transgressors of God’s law.’ SPIAM 93.3

“I saw then these little jets of light growing brighter, shining forth from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and lighting the whole world. Occasionally one of these lights would begin to grow dim, and others would go out, and every time this occurred there was sadness and weeping in heaven. And some of the lights would grow brighter and brighter, and their brightness was far-reaching, and many more lights were added to it. Then there was rejoicing in heaven. I saw that the rays of light came directly from Jesus, to form these precious jets of light in the world.”—Gospel Workers, old edition, 378. SPIAM 93.4

That was the repetition for the advent movement of the call of the angel of Revelation 14 to go to every nation and tongue and people. The constant representation by the Spirit of prophecy looking toward a truly world-wide work was hard for the pioneers to understand at first. James White, the first leader in the movement, used to tell how it troubled them, when they could not see how it could be, with time so short and numbers so few. It was felt that a few would be gathered out in all continents, representing all nations, but to send missionaries into all the remote lands, and do a settled work in all the ends of the earth, seemed beyond their resources. SPIAM 94.1

About so was the idea, I think, down to 1893, though the view of results to be expected was ever enlarging. I speak of it freely, as that was about my idea, as nearly as I can recall, when I was called to return from Europe to America, to act as secretary of the Foreign Mission Board in 1891. SPIAM 94.2